Recently in Michelin Category

Gillian Thomson, head of operations at Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH), is leaving the multi-Michelin-starred restaurant group, Kitchen Rat has learnt.

Scottish-born Thomson will leave GRH at the end of this month after eight years with the company.

Gillian Thomson joined GRH at its humble beginnings and has helped grow the company from two restaurants, employing 70 staff, to a global business with 23 restaurants on four continents.

After graduating with a hotel and hospitality management degree from the Scottish Hotel School at Strathclyde University, Thomson worked for what is now Millennium Hotels & Resorts, initially at the company's Glasgow hotel as assistant food and beverage manager.

She then transferred to the group's London hotel in Knightsbridge as food and beverage manager, before becoming operations manager at the Millennium Bailey's hotel. She joined GRH in 2001.

Marco Pierre White returns to our screens next Monday for the latest instalment of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen.

The participants were revealed today and, as per usual, it is a mixed bunch.

The full line-up: TV presenter Anthea Turner and her husband Grant Bovey; model Danielle Bux (better known as Gary Lineker's fiance); singer Ms Dynamite; actor and comedian Adrian Edmondson; former Liverpool goalie Bruce Grobbelaar; Jody Latham from Shameless and former Dynasty actress Linda Evans.

A few Kitchen Rat predictions: Anthea will be the first to cry, Ms Dynamite will be the first to have a shouting match with MPW, the cameras will take a shine to Bux and Jody will be the best chef (well, one hopes so - he's launching his own restaurant soon).

Former MasterChef winner James Nathan has joined the Michelin-starred Bath Priory as junior sous chef, Kitchen Rat can reveal.

The 2008 winner of the BBC show, which gives amateur cooks the chance to make the jump to becoming professional chefs, will be working under the guidance of the property's new executive head chef Michael Caines.

Caines has taken over the reins at the Bath Priory following the departure of Chris Horridge, who left in January to join von Essen's Cliveden hotel.

Head chef is James Sheridan, who joins from Caines' two-Michelin-starred restaurant at Gidleigh Park, where he was sous chef. It's his first role as head chef.

The Bath Priory will reopen Monday week (16 March) after a six-week refurbishment programme, which included a complete revamp of the kitchen.

Look out for a Minute on the Clock interview with general manager Sue Williams in next week's issue of Caterer and Hotelkeeper out on 12 March. 

In an interesting career move, Derek Bulmer, editor of the Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland, has come forward as a love guru giving couples tips on how to get the most out of their Valentine's Day experience.

Check out Caterer's restaurant blog Guide Girl for the full story.

Whether you like it or not, Michelin still rocks the cheffing world and remains the key barometer for restaurants across the UK.

This year's guide has caused a particular stir after the results leaked out five days early on the internet and they were met with a mixed reaction from the industry.

But what goes on behind closed doors at Michelin? How do the inspectors evaluate who's worth a Bib Gourmand or the rising three-star?

Watch our video interview with editor Derek Bulmer to find out more.

In contrast to the fine dining, gastronocially exotic food they create, we hear that chefs who were awarded Michelin stars at the weekend celebrated in a variety of decidedly more down to earth ways.

Newly honoured with two Michelin stars, the brigade at Whatley Manor were taken out by head chef Martin Burge for a celebratory blow out dinner at a local curry house on Sunday night to celebrate their new accolade.

Meanwhile, Alan Murchison, chef/patron of L'Ortolan in Reading and La Becasse in Ludlow was up in Scotland filming the Great British Menu when he heard the news of his star.

His grand celebration consisted of quaffing a can of diet coke alone in his hotel bedroom.

Although Kate Winslet's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes this weekend may have been a bit "luvee" for some, it's widely seen as a good sign ahead of the Oscars.

Kitchen Rat therefore got to thinking if parallels could be drawn with the AA rosettes, released today, and next week's Michelin stars for Great Britain and Ireland.

Four AA rosettes are surely good news then for Michael Wignall at The Latymer at Pennyhill Park hotel in Surrey, who is no doubt keen to win back at least one Michelin star having held one at the Devonshire Arms in Yorkshire previously (see our Menuwatch for more).

By the same measure, it's not promising for Alan Yau's Hakkasan in London, which was demoted from three AA-Rosettes to two (as was Fredrick's hotel in Maidenhead, Berkshire).

In fact a bad month ahead for the Yaus in general perhaps, with news that Aaya - see our Menuwatch - by Gary Yau has gone into administration despite impressing the critics at launch less than a year ago.

On this note, Michelin starred chef Michael Caines observation that Michelin will be keen not to recognise restaurants that may go under in the UK recession seems sage.

Don't forget to read our report on the AA in today's Caterer where we ask if the organisation is awash after former hotel inspector Jayne Wyatt won her unfair dismissal case last year.

2008: AA rosette rated restaurants>>

Pennyhill Park's Latymer wins Good Food Guide restaurant award>>

Michelin stars 2009 - predictions>>

Michelin stars can be a double-edged sword>>

New head chef at the Dorchester's Grill>>

Word has reached Kitchen Rat that the Dorchester has appointed a replacement for Aiden Byrne, the former head chef of the hotel's Grill restaurant, who has left to run his own pub in Cheshire.

Fellow scouser Brian Hughson, former head chef of Gary Rhodes' Michelin-starred Rhodes W1 Restaurant at the Cumberland hotel, has taken over the reins.  

Byrne, who announced his departure last year after obtaining the leasehold on the Church Green Pub in Lymm, Cheshire, was set to leave the Dorchester at the end of January. But as Hughson already started his new role in December, Byrne was set free early and is now fully concentrating on getting things off the ground at his own venture.

According to Byrne the Dorchester is "shooting for Michelin stars" so hopes will be high for Hughson to deliver in the 2010 guide. Well, at least he's got some time.

Aiden Byrne to leave the Dorchester 

Interview with Gary Rhodes and Brian Hughson on winning a Michelin star 

With just over a week to go until the 2009 Michelin guide for Great Britain and Ireland is released, rumours are rife about who will and who won't be getting stars this year.

Kitchen Rat spoke to some of the culinary wizards who have gained stars themselves in the past about who they think deserves to win this year.

After last year's relatively poor crop of awards, hopes are high that there'll be at least a few two stars handed out this year. Restaurants including L'Autre Pied, Nathan Outlaw, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley and Claude and Claire Bosi's Hibiscus are getting the top votes from their peers but the consensus among the industry seems that 2009 will be yet another year where the UK's number of three-starred restaurants will remain unchanged.

Here's what our top chefs had to say:

It seems that Heston Blumenthal, everyone's favourite three Michelin-starred chef/scientist, isn't off our television screens at the moment.

After an appearance on BBC2's irreverant music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks earlier this month which left Heston shuffling nervously in his seat, our Heston turned up on Sky Sports' Saturday morning show Soccer AM over the weekend.

Heston - a huge fan of nouveau riche Islington side Arsenal - turned up on Saturday and proved he's perhaps better off in the kitchen when he missed the target in Soccer AM's 'Road to Rome' segment (but then, to be fair, so did everyone else).

Kitchen Rat got to thinking about what other TV shows Heston could make guest appearances on.

A stint on Location, Location, Location perhaps? "I'm looking for another large house in Bray, with a massive kitchen and fireproof walls"...

How about Cash in the Attic? I have found this old bunsen burner - how much could I flog it for on eBay?"...

Perhaps we could come up with a new format- Challenge Heston - where contestants have to come up with even more palate-challenging food concepts than bacon and egg ice-cream. Or How to Cook Good Naked, with regular guests Gok Wan and Jamie Oliver. 

Kitchen Rat considered a concept that would see Heston being filmed as he attempted to save Little Chef but decided it was too far fetched...